86 HETEROMERA. 
1. Xeuxes brevicollis. (Tab. IV. figg. 15,2; 15a, labium; 15 6, maxilla and 
maxillary palpus; 15 c, mandible; 15d, antenna.) 
Black, somewhat thickly clothed with very short pubescence, feebly shining. Head very finely and closely 
punctured ; antenne brownish-black ; prothorax broad, strongly transverse, the sides very finely margined 
from the base to the apex, a little narrowed in front, and rounded, the hind angles obtuse, the base 
bisinuate and finely margined, the apex (if viewed from above) truncate, the surface closely and moderately 
finely punctured (more coarsely so than the head), with an impression on each side just behind the 
eyes (in a line with the deep longitudinal basal foves) and an interrupted smooth narrow groove down 
the middle; elytra distinctly depressed within the shoulders, and with very shallow longitudinal grooves on 
the disc, the surface very closely, finely, and uniformly punctured, the apices rounded ; beneath brownish- 
black, finely and closely punctured, sparsely pubescent ; legs piceous-brown. 
Length 63 millim. (9.) 
Hab. Mexico, Ciudad in Durango (Hége). 
Two examples, apparently both females, were captured by Herr Hoge during his 
second expedition. 
DRANCES. 
Maxillary palpi with the second joint rather long, subtriangular, the third joint triangular, much shorter than 
the second, the fourth joint large and triangular, longer than broad, its outer and apical sides about equal ; 
labial palpi with the first joint small, the second joint very large and ovate, and with its apex obliquely 
truncate, the third joint ovate, obliquely articulated to, and narrower than, though about as long as, the 
second; mentum strongly transverse; ligula prominent, rounded in front; mandibles bifid; inner lobe 
of the maxille rather narrow, the outer lobe moderately broad; head short and broad, subhorizontal, 
the epistoma limited posteriorly by a shallow groove; eyes deeply emarginate, convex, moderately large, 
very widely separated, a space in front of each raised for the insertion of the antenne; the latter 
11-jointed, stout, and a little flattened, nearly reaching to the middle of the elytra, joint 3 three times as 
long as and much broader than 2, rather shorter than 4, 4-10 longer than broad, 11 longer than 10, and 
ovate; prothorax strongly transverse, broadly truncate in front, the sides dilated posteriorly, and rather 
sharply separated from the flanks, the basal fovee not indicated, the base bisinuate ; scutellum transverse, 
rather large; elytra long, a little wider than the prothorax at the base, the sides almost straight (though 
gradually narrowing) to far beyond the middle, the apices separately rounded; anterior coxe contiguous, 
the cavities closed externally, but widely open behind; middle coxse narrowly separated, the cavities open 
externally, and the trochantin visible; legs rather long, moderately stout; penultimate joint of the tarsi 
small, very feebly lobed beneath, the basal joint of the hind tarsi the length of the following joints united ; 
form very narrow, elongate, rather depressed. 
This genus is proposed for an inconspicuous insect from Mexico. Drances is 
perhaps nearest allied to Symphora. The labial palpi differ in form from those of the 
majority of the Melandryide in having the second joint very stout, stouter than the 
apical one, and with its apex very obliquely truncate. 
1. Drances angustatus. (Tab. IV. figg. 16; 16a, labium; 160, maxilla and 
maxillary palpus; 16 c, mandible.) 
Black, the front of the head and the oral organs fusco-ferruginous, sparsely pubescent, slightly shining. Head 
very closely and coarsely punctured; antenne black; prothorax very closely and coarsely punctured, 
broadest at the base, the sides almost straight behind, and rounded and a little narrowed in front, the 
hind angles rectangular, the disc with traces of a very shallow oblique groove on each side behind; elytra 
with very shallow intrahumeral depression, punctured like the prothorax, and without trace of serial rows 
of impressions ; beneath piceous-black, the sides of the pro- and metasternum densely and somewhat 
